Intro: Thymesia is a third person souls-like ARPG that takes you back in time to the age of the bubonic plague. With dynamic controls and a pace that demands quick reflexes, this is the perfect entry level Souls-Like experience for those who want to get accustomed to what a Souls game is like before committing to the grind. Thymesia has a perfect combat balance that’s its intensive battles that keep the player on their toes and on edge. But all is not paradise is in Hermes.
With certain parts of the story that seemed too bland, areas that felt generic and the added addition of bugs riddling the end of the game, including but not limited to complete game crashes, freezes, and the screen going black during game play to the point where I couldn’t even finish the final boss. Corvus has a story to tell, and whether you decide to take on just the main story, or the entire lore set there is something teeming on the edge of epiphany.
A Bloodborne Copycat: Entering into Thymesia I wasn’t really sure what to expect. A copycat of Dark souls or Bloodborne? A try hard game that had little substance, or maybe something that looked beautiful but played poorly. There is a lot happening with this game that I loved but wasn’t a fan of, and when it comes to replicating Dark Souls it’s very hard to capture that same energy and difficulty that the bosses encapsulate. The bosses, areas and its enemies are challenging but also reasonable in how they can be approached and conquered. In Thymesia a delicate and very true to Soul's balance was happening in terms of how the bosses and typical enemies are concerned. Everything else seems to be taken out of the book of Bloodborne with how strikingly similar the stories are. The story, while having some substance could have done a lot more in terms of the characters you can interact with. The major way that Thymesias story is different however is how at the start of the game it is delivering what the story is and its context straight away, so you already know what you’re getting yourself into.
The areas are fun to look at but minimally done in terms of what they can offer the player. The only area I felt was unique in terms of originality was The Royal Garden where we face off against the Hanged Queen AKA a giant bat. I felt at times I was just going to an area for the boss and some of the notes. They didn’t hold me the same way Dark Souls or Bloodborne do. Even when we get into the boss fights, I didn’t even realize there was dialogite until I just so happened to look at the bottom of the screen. I feel like having the voice actors do something besides grunt or miff would add a lot more intensity to the bosses, the NPC's and ESPECIALLY Corvus.
Stunning Combat: The main thing about this game that had me in awe (besides the fact that you can pause the game), was the combat. This games combat system is so immersive and unique in how you can fight and utilize regular weapons’ and plague weapons. By far the best part of this game besides the bosses and combat is the plague weapons and how they vary. Some are good and others are very OP like the hammer or the arrow. As a side note, leveling up is simple and to the point in this game and you get very far with leveling up only a few times. Now, depending on what your play style is you can parry, deflect, dodge or run like a bat out of hell. Personally, I loved the parrying system in this game, it was satisfying to nail down and something that whittles away the white health bar.
The Bugs in This Game are A Shame: The bugs towards the end of Thymesia had to be some of the worst I have seen in an indie game. From crashes to the characters gliding and moving on their own, to the game updating and showing a black screen (besides the health bar and weapons’.) Going into the final battle with none other than Corvus (very philosophical) was great, faced paced and using our own moves against us. But when the game crashed and then updated showing me a black screen I couldn’t continue playing and get my ending. It’s a shame too because while I have my issues with the game it was an enjoyable experience.
Final thoughts: This game was fun, difficult at points and something that I could easily see being expanded upon. Using the bubonic plague as a story point to create the world around us is something more games need to do since it has a lot of room for the narrative designers to be creative and have fun. While there are things with this game that, like I said, need work its truly a fun experience that is a gateway into the dark soul's universe for beginner players that will have you praising the sun in no time.